Purpose
by PotterPhantomKitten
Summary: I always hoped..." 2 said to 9 when they first met. But how did 2 know to expect 9's coming? A vision from 6 reveals the purposes of the known stitchpunks, as well as the coming of the 9th. One-shot. Takes place a few months before the movie.


**A/N: Well, here we go, my first 9 fanfic ever! I came up with this a short while ago after looking at the movie posters for all of the stitchpunks again. And I had a thought: 2 had said to 9 "I always hoped…" when they first met in the movie, so how did 2 know about all this at first anyway? This one-shot was partially inspired by those posters, and takes place a few months before the movie. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own 9. If I did, 6 would've had more lines, and none of the stitchpunks would have died. Oh well.**

----

6's ink-pen hands hurriedly moved across the paper in front of him, frantically sketching the vision that was entering his mind. He had expected it – the visions came without warning, but it happened so often that by now he was used to it. He knew that some of the stitchpunks considered him strange, lost in his visions all the time, but it was just the way 6 was. In a sense, if the other stitchpunks would listen to his visions, they would see that he could lead them.

6 felt it was his mission. His purpose. It was just that few of the others could see it.

"The Source…" 6 murmured to himself, as he often did. "The Source…"

He hurriedly completed the drawing of the symbol that had been projected to him through his visions, a circle with three strange symbols within it, placed equidistant from each other. 6 didn't know how long or how often this symbol kept appearing, but he drew it whenever it came to him.

"It means something," 6 would say, which was a rare thing for him to boldly announce. 1 and 8 never listened to his visions, and 3, 4, and 7 had long since disappeared. As far as 6 was concerned, 5 and 2 were the only ones still around who would listen to him.

They didn't ridicule 6. They understood it was his purpose.

As 6 placed his newest drawing on the wall with the others he had drawn, he heard light footsteps behind him. Turning around, he recognized the face of the old stitchpunk immediately. It was 2.

"Drawing again, 6?" 2 asked, smiling.

6 nodded, a small smile creeping up on his face. No matter what, 2 had always been kind to him. "The Vision came again." 6 always referred to his sightings of the strange object as "The Vision," as it frequently came to him, never letting up.

"Have you figured out what it means yet?" the older stitchpunk inquired, glancing toward the many drawings on the wall that showed the strange object.

Shaking his head, 6 looked downcast. "No."

2 reassuringly placed his hand on 6's shoulder. "I know you'll figure it out soon. Your visions can help to lead us."

6 only gave a brief nod before a strange expression came over him. The smile vanished from his face, and the comforted gaze in his makeshift eyes turned into a distant, vacant look.

2 drew his hand back. He knew that whenever 6 got that look, a vision was penetrating through his mind. Whn 6 became like this, there were only two things to him: himself and his visions. It was important to let the young seer alone and let the visions come to him.

Instinctively, 6 grabbed a piece of paper to sketch his current vision. 2 knelt down, and could instantly tell by 6's rapid hand movements that this was a different vision than that of the strange symbol, which he often saw while murmuring of "The Source", whatever that was. Instead, 6 seemed to quickly sketch the outline of a familiar figure.

"It's 1," 2 gasped in astonishment.

Indeed it was. Though 6 drew the sketch quickly, he put much detail into it, and 2 could clearly identify 1's features. Above the picture, 6 sketched 1's name, writing a small string of words below.

_To protect us…_

2's eyes widened for a moment. The words that 6 had scribbled onto the page made sense. 1 was said to protect them – he had always led them away from danger, even if 2 didn't always agree with him.

6 had already grabbed another paper, and was in the process of drawing another stitchpunk. 2 smiled as he saw who it was.

"That's me," 2 smiled wistfully as 6 finished the drawing. Intrigued, he looked on as 6 sketched 2's name. Then, like 1's, the seer wrote words underneath.

_To inspire us…_

"Do you really think I inspire you?" 2 whispered, even though 6 didn't seem to hear him. It was true, 2 thought after a moment. 5 had always said that 2 inspired him, and helped him get though tough times. 2 had a strong inkling that 6 felt the same way.

Reaching for another sheet of paper, 6 continued to draw at an ever increasing pace, his hands gliding over the page in a blur. 2 recognized the two that 6 had drawn immediately – identical except for their names.

"3 and 4," 2 said with a sad smile. Though the twins were unable to speak, they had always been fun to have around. "Whatever happened to them?" he wondered.

6 had just finished drawing 3's and 4's names above the picture of the two, before proceeding to write a string of letters below each one of them. For 3's name, he wrote:

_To define us…_

While for 4, 6 wrote:

_To teach us…_

"Those words describe the twins perfectly," 2 thought to himself. "They catalogue everything they see. It's almost like their purpose." As 2 realized this, a thought flashed through his mind. He was beginning to suspect what 6's phrases underneath their names meant. Whatever vision 6 was having, it was channeling to him the purpose of each of the stitchpunks.

The thought had barely come to 2's mind when 6 had grabbed another sheet, drawing a one-eyed stitchpunk that 2 recognized instantly to be 5, his pupil. In what seemed like another instant, the young seer had already scribbled down 5's name, and his purpose underneath.

_To guide us…_

2 smiled at the phrase. A healer and a mechanic, 5 had always been one to guide them, though he could sometimes be timid. In a world such as theirs, however, it was wise to be timid in some situations. Not completely blinded by fear, but a good bit of caution was sometimes enough to save their lives.

With no hesitation at all, 6 had placed yet another sheet of paper in front of him. His ink-covered fingers flew over the paper like lightening as he sketched his next stitchpunk drawing.

Though 2, having noticed the numerical pattern of 6's drawings, knew which stitchpunk 6 was presently drawing, he couldn't help but marvel at the intricate detail of all of his drawings. And as 6 began to draw a sketch of himself, what the elder stitchpunk noticed most in 6's self-portrayal was his eyes. 6's eyes in the drawing seemed almost deep and penetrating, like windows into his inner world. The world of his visions. The world of "the Source".

2 was so lost in the drawing of 6 that he only dimly noticed 6 write down his own name, as well as his purpose.

_To lead us…_

2 now understood why 6 had come across to him as one who could lead the group. The young stitchpunk was eccentric, but prophetic, and he knew that his visions could help them, could lead them… if the others would learn to listen to him. 2 knew that both 1 and 8 were hard on 6, turning a deaf ear to the impulsive stitchpunk. Maybe they all just needed to learn to see the world as 6 did.

The elder broke out of his thoughts to gaze at 6's newest drawing, one of a stitchpunk carrying a spear, and a bird-skull helmet over her head. It was 7, the warrior. Like 3 and 4, 7 had disappeared, and the group was unsure whether or not she was alive. Despite 1's assertion that they were gone, 2 had a feeling that they were still out there. Where, he did not know.

It was then that 6 scrawled down 7's name, her purpose below it.

_To defend us…_

2 could perfectly understand why those words were channeled to 6 as 7's purpose. She was a strong warrior, a valiant stitchpunk who had learned to let go of fear to save her friends. And she had done more than her fair share in taking down several of the machines that had attacked the small group.

6 reached for his seventh sheet of paper, quickly sketching the largest of the stitchpunks, 8. Though 8 was the largest of the group, it seemed to take 6 just as much time to draw 8 as he had with the other stitchpunks. With an amazing swiftness, he wrote the name of the final member of their group, and his purpose.

_To guard us…_

Like the others, 2 could understand this purpose perfectly well. First and foremost 8 was 1's bodyguard, and would die to protect him. And though he seemed like a bully to the other stitchpunks, he guarded them when the time and need came.

Suddenly, 2's eye widened as he realized something – 6 had picked up a final sheet of paper and was drawing as frantically as 2 had ever seen him. It was a stitchpunk, true, but an unfamiliar one. He had a curious look in his eyes, a large zipper going down his front.

"Could there be another?" 2 murmured in astonishment. All this time, he had thought that they were the only stitchpunks around. And yet – if 6 was right – there was another one somewhere out there.

With swiftness, and yet with a delicate care, 6's hands wrote the name of the mysterious stitchpunk – 9 – and his purpose.

_To save us._

2's eyes widened. What exactly did 6 mean by that? How would this mysterious stitchpunk save them? Could it have something to do with the symbol 6 was always drawing? Something to do with "the Source"?

In that moment, 6's optics snapped back into their cautious, wandering gaze. He glanced at 2 for a moment, then at his drawings. "The Source," he whispered quietly. "He must go back to the Source."

It was in that moment that 1, 8, and 5 came wandering into the area. 1's eyes narrowed as he saw 6, hearing what he was saying.

"Stop rambling that nonsense!" he scoffed at 6, slamming his staff down on the hard wood floor.

6 only glanced at his drawings. "He will come… Found in the Emptiness… he must go back to the Source – "

"I've had enough of your lunacy!" 1 barked at him. "Your 'visions' could put us all in danger!"

5 looked like he was about to protest, but 8 glared at him before going to over to 6's drawings and smearing some of them with his large foot.

8 chuckled as he saw 6's hurt expression before stomping off to rejoin 1.

"2," 1 said sternly, showing no hint of remorse, "5 was looking for you. He needs some sort of help with the watchtower telescope."

"Thank you, 1," 2 said as 1 and his bodyguard left. 5, however, stayed behind.

"Did something happen?" 5 asked, curious.

" 6 had a vision," 2 explained.

"Was it of the symbol he always draws?" 5 inquired, gesturing to the many illustrations on the wall.

"No," 2 said, placing a hand on 5's shoulder. "The vision was of us… and our purposes."

"What do you mean?" 5 questioned, confused.

"We all have a purpose." 6 spoke up. "1's is to protect. 2's is to inspire."

5's optics picked out the drawing of himself, picking it up in his hands. "My purpose is to guide us?"

6 nodded. "There's another out there," he finished, "another of our kind."

"But…" 5 was flabbergasted as he eyed the drawings of all of the stitchpunks, and their purposes. As he read the words that described each of them, he realized that they did indeed fit the stitchpunk they described.

"And the other…" 5 said, still trying to piece this all together, "what is his purpose?"

"To save us," 2 said in an awed tone as 6 held up the drawing.

"He will come from the Emptiness," 6 said again, "but must go back to the Source."

5 wasn't sure what to make of this. How could there be another stitchpunk? Could he trust 6's vision? What was this all about anyway? He took a deep breath. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens." 5 was somewhat doubtful that there might be another – he never thought he'd see another one. But only time would tell.

2 gave a small smile to both 5 and 6 before standing up, leaning on his cane for balance. "I think we'd better go take a look at that telescope."

As 2 and 5 turned to go, 6 suddenly reached up and grabbed 2's arm, their gazes meeting.

"He will come, 2," 6 assured the older stitchpunk with a certainty 2 hadn't heard from him in a long time. "Trust me… he will come."

2 smiled slightly. "I trust you, 6. I trust that your vision shall lead us."

Before him and 5 left, 2 turned to the young psychic with a knowing smile. "It is your purpose, after all."

----

**A/N: Whew, finally done! I really felt like writing a one-shot like this, and when I looked at the posters again it kind of justcam to me. And 6 is one of my favorite characters! Hope you liked it! Read and review!**


End file.
